Advocacy Director Jobs

Open MIC is seeking an Advocacy Director to lead the organization’s work on key policy issues and campaigns in the tech and media sectors.

Position Summary:

This is a meaningful moment for Open MIC’s growth as an organization: more than ever, policymakers, grassroots organizers, tech workers, and investors are challenging tech companies’ role in enabling racism, perpetuating surveillance, weakening labor protections, harming small businesses, and more. At the same time, investors are increasingly using their platform to apply needed pressure on tech companies to change policies and practices that enable harm.

Open MIC is hiring an Advocacy Director to help identify and prioritize critical social justice concerns posed by an increasingly powerful and consolidated media and technology landscape. The Advocacy Director will lead shareholder advocacy campaigns; organize shareholder education efforts; manage relationships with partner organizations in the social and media justice communities; and help represent Open MIC in the media and in public convenings.

The Advocacy Director will also collaborate with the Executive Director and Deputy Director in charting a path for future growth of Open MIC. This will include providing input on fundraising and organizational development.

We are looking for a driven, organized, and adaptive organizational leader who is well versed in media and technology issues and who can work collaboratively with colleagues to increase the impact of our shareholder advocacy campaigns while at the same time representing Open MIC to investors, social justice organizations, the media, funders, and the public. Open MIC works with investors who have both shareholder value and social impact in mind, including investment firms, pension funds, foundations and faith-based investors. The Advocacy Director will convey concerns about corporate behavior from a lens of social harm as well as through a lens of business risk.

The Advocacy Director will work in close collaboration with Open MIC’s small team.We are a remote staff currently based in New York and Toronto. The Advocacy Director can work virtually from most any location but must be able and available to travel for occasional in-person team meetings, conferences and other business meetings, primarily in the U.S.

The Advocacy Director is a full-time, exempt position that works a 35-hour work week. Salary scale range is $80,000-$95,000, commensurate with experience. Position includes excellent benefits including medical, dental and vision.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

Executive and Administrative (10%)

Organize and track Open MIC’s relationships with partner organizations in the social and media justice communities

Communicate Open MIC’s advocacy goals and operational plans across staff, partners and external stakeholders

Shareholder Engagement (60%)

• Shape the direction and scope of Open MIC initiatives in coordination with the Executive Director and Deputy Director
• Stay up-to-date on key policy and news developments around Open MIC issue areas to inform the development of campaign strategy
• Build/maintain relationships with new/existing shareholder partners, including by identifying new partnerships, ensuring that partners are meaningfully participating in campaign work, connecting shareholders to social justice and advocacy partners working on tech accountability campaigns, and attending and participating in conferences and virtual events.
• Produce materials that raise awareness among impact investors of critical media and technology issues, including by writing reports framing the business risk of these issues, and organizing and presenting on informational webinars.
• Develop and implement shareholder campaigns to increase corporate accountability at companies in the U.S. media/tech sector, including by drafting shareholder resolutions, participating in company dialogues, identifying opportunities for coalition building with civil rights, advocacy, and tech worker partners, and managing relationships with organizational partners

Communications (30%)

• Speak to press, develop relationships with reporters, and conduct outreach to press, as needed
• Synthesize major media/tech policy developments and issues by framing the regulatory, legal, financial, and reputational risk to companies, including by drafting position papers, website content, press releases, and working with Open MIC staff and consultants to create social media content
• Develop strategic communications plans targeting key audiences to advance Open MIC campaigns and visibility goals
• Identify and manage opportunities for greater visibility of Open MIC’s work and our issue areas to a broader audience of investors and partners in coordination with communications consultants

Education and Experience:

• At least 5 years experience working on research, policy development, and/or campaigning related to technology, Internet rights and media justice issues
• At least 5-10 years professional work experience

We hope you will bring the following:

• Ability to travel within the U.S. on occasion
• Familiarity with corporate social responsibility, impact investing, or corporate accountability efforts is a plus, but not required
• Organizational leadership experience, and/or an understanding of how nonprofits grow
• Demonstrated skills in policy advocacy, community organizing, or campaigning to develop support for a specific issue or campaign
• Sense of humor is appreciated!
• Ability to work remotely
• Demonstrated ability to synthesize complex issues into digestible and relevant information for a range of audiences across sectors (finance, tech/media, nonprofit)
• Ability to lead and work collaboratively in a small organization
• Excellent research, writing and verbal communication skills
• Ability to build, nurture and sustain relationships in order to move work forward
• Demonstrated knowledge of current issues in the media and technology sectors and familiarity with the landscape of corporate accountability efforts surrounding these issues
• Demonstrated commitment to racial and social justice and aligning advocacy work with the needs of frontline communities

Organizational Relationships:

The Advocacy Director reports to the Executive Director of Open MIC and works collaboratively with all staff, including the Deputy Director, as well as with shareholder partners, non-profit advocacy partners, vendors and contractors.

Physical Demands:

Ability to spend up to eight hours a day working on a computer and speaking on a phone.

Work Environment:

Open MIC currently operates as a virtual organization. The Advocacy Director must be able to work remotely, managing their own schedule and workspace. Open MIC will provide a laptop. While on travel, work will most often be completed from hotels, partner and coalition offices, and conference facilities.

Open MIC, a project of Tides Center, is an “at-will” and equal opportunity employer. Applicants and employees shall not be discriminated against because of race, religion, sex, national origin, ethnicity age, mental or physical disability, sexual orientation, gender (including pregnancy and gender expression) identity, color, marital status, veteran status, medical condition, or any other classification protected by federal, state, or local law or ordinance. Reasonable accommodation will be made so that qualified disabled applicants may participate in the application process. Please advise in writing of special needs at the time of application.

How to Apply

Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis until the position is filled. Please send to [email protected]: 1) a resume or CV and 2) a cover letter (no longer than one page) that addresses these questions:

• In looking at Open MIC’s current or past shareholder advocacy, which issues and campaigns strike you as particularly compelling? Why?
• What makes this job a good match for you?
• What is one meaningful strength that you bring to your work that we would not know about just by looking at your resume?
• Looking to the future, which issues in the technology and media sectors do you believe will raise serious social justice concerns? What role could Open MIC play in addressing those concerns?